Oakland, Calif. - It took until the fourth quarter for the New Orleans Hornets to raise their energy level and play with the urgency needed to be productive. But it came too late as the Hornets suffered their eighth consecutive loss 103-96 to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night at the Oracle Arena.

Similar to Sunday night’s 95-94 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Hornets came close but not close enough. After trailing by a 12-point deficit with just more than seven minutes to play, Hornets rookie Anthony Davis made a layup and free throw to tie the score at 92 with 4:07 remaining. But the Warriors didn’t fold down the stretch, especially after former Hornets point guard Jarrett Jack made four throws in the final 1:24 that helped build their lead back to seven.

"I think we're doing this to ourselves,'' point Greivis Vasquez said. "These losses are self-inflicted. We always start out slow and then come out in the second half playing hard. We spend so much energy late in games instead of playing that way right away. That’s part of being young, but that can’t be an excuse. We’re playing with better effort, but we’re not getting wins and it’s really hurting us.’’

Trying to avoid having their longest losing streak of the season extended another game, Hornets Coach Monty Williams shuffled his lineup. Davis, who scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, earned his first start in five games since returning from a left ankle injury. Before the game, Williams said it was time to put Davis back in the starting lineup ahead of Ryan Anderson, who is the team’s leading scorer with an 18.6 average. In four games coming off the bench, Davis had averaged 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.

"Whether or not it's time, it's where he is going to be,'' Williams said about inserting Davis back into the starting lineup. "Ryan, the way he scores, gives us an option off the bench. When I talked to Ryan about coming (this summer) this was going to be the lineup. I wanted to do it before the Portland game and maybe I should have. But I thought why wait any longer.''

Early on, however, Davis appeared as if wasn't finding his way back into the offense. He took only one shot in the first quarter and had only six points at halftime. Davis also struggled in the first half to defend Warriors forward David Lee, who scored 19 of his 26 points before halftime.

The Hornets settled for too many jump shots and they struggled to keep the Warriors’ guards from penetrating the lane throughout the first half. It led to the Warriors’ 28-12 scoring advantage in the post, which helped them lead by as many as 14 before taking a 59-50 halftime lead.

"It’s always that first half that gets us,’’ Davis said. "Any time you don’t come out with energy and they build an 11-point lead. It’s harder to chip away, especially against a good team like this with a lot of shooters. Every time we get it down to nine, they hit a three or score a bucket. It was tough, but we have to come out with a lot more energy.’’

The Hornets held the Warriors to 31.6 percent shooting in the second half and outscored them 46-44. But that couldn't overcome them allowing the Warriors to shoot 55 percent from the field. Former Hornets forward Carl Landry was a persistent attacker in the post, which led to his 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Jack was quick off the dribble and also scored 16 points with 10 assists.

The Hornets traded Jack to the Warriors after last season and Landry was not re-signed as an unrestricted free agent this summer, although he expressed a desire to return.

"Me and Jack played for them last year and getting a chance to play against friends but at the same time the enemy and getting a win, it definitely feels good,’’ Landry said.

Unlike the Warriors (17-8), who have won seven of the past eight games, the Hornets (5-19) have not enjoyed a win since beating the Milwaukee Bucks 102-81 at the New Orleans Arena on Dec. 3. The Hornets also suffered their fourth consecutive road defeat since defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 105-98 at the Staples Center on Nov. 26. The Hornets return to the Staples Center on Wednesday night to face the Clippers, who have won 10 consecutive games.

Though the Hornets are 24 games into the season with a young roster, Williams is still searching for the right lineup combination. Against the Warriors, Lance Thomas became the third different player that has started at small forward since a Dec. 7 game against the Memphis Grizzlies when Xavier Henry earned his first start of the season. Small forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who has struggled with inconsistency, played only 3 1/2 minutes against the Warrors and went scoreless.

"We just haven’t found that closing mentality where guys can knock down a shot or get to the free-throw line,’’ Williams said. "We had some new guys out there that hadn’t been in this situation. It’s just a tough loss, especially when you tie it up and all you need is a couple of stops and couple of buckets.’’